First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

For God, Whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you,

always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.

For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established:

that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.

I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

8 ways Christians should view other Christians- Based on the Life of Paul

Today we are going to study Paul and how he viewed other Christian’s. We see a clear picture of this as he concludes his greeting to the Romans.

First question is why study how Paul viewed Christians?

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:1-“Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” This is why we should study Paul’s actions. Christ gave a life example but His word gives an account that Paul was imitating Christ. So Paul commanding imitate me as I imitate Christ is a command from the Lord. Because the Bible is God’s Authoritative Word.

1.We should be thankful for other Christians

8) First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

Paul is thankful for all of God’s people. Not just some

not showing favoritism to those are in the body of Christ.

We have a different love for a non-believer and a believer. I deeper love. A love that grows and gives back. Among the love for a non-believer, it is rich but stays on a surface level. The Love grows by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit but the relationship will stay surface level until the Lord opens that person’s eyes to the truth.

Paul was thankful that their faith was being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

If we are to have a sincere Christ-like Love we must have a sincere Christ-like Faith! The Love is a fruit of our relationship with Christ. If we don’t spend time in God’s word or praying our relationship with God will become dull and ineffective….or fruitless. So we must note what Paul was thankful for.

Paul was thankful that their faith was being proclaimed throughout the whole World. This made Paul happy that the Church in Rome was growing. So he was thankful.

2. We should be Concerned for other Christians

9-10a) For God, Whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, in my prayers

Paul had never met the Christians at Rome. This is why the introduction is so personal and revealing of Paul.

Earlier he wanted them to know he was a bondservant, an apostle who was set apart for the Gospel. Now he is revealing more about himself.

Nero was the Ruler of Rome and he wasn’t a very pro-Christian kind of guy. If there was any church that needed Paul’s prayers it was this church.

Sadly this holds very little weight in our culture. I think it is due to the large amount of ineffective Christians in our country that talk the talk and say all the right things but do not live it out. Remember the Elementary School shooting in newton, CT. Obama made the statement, “our prayers go out to the families of newtown”. But we studied in 1 john that ineffective Christians pray ineffective prayers. Post a trajedy on Facebook and see how many” I’m praying for you” comments you get. Then look at each individual one and see what their posts looks like. Most are selfish prideful post that only uplift themselves and in no way shape or form glorify God. Paul wasn’t giving one of these “PRAYING FOR YA!” He was genuinely spending time praying for the church of Rome! This is why we are doing the prayer challenge each week, because if you can’t pray for a few minutes a day, how can you mature as a Christian?

3. We should be willing to Spend time with Christians

10b) , if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.

Paul has already told them that he was thankful for them, that he was praying for them and now that he was coming to see them. By the wording it shows that he was excited about coming to see him. There is a deeper application to this passage as you grow in your maturity as it pertains to leading others. But now there is still plenty of applicable content.

-How often do you attend church?

-How often do you attend bible studies?

I have only been going to the Wednesday Youth Service for a few weeks now and I can think of two instances where nearly the entire youth bailed on church to dance and to watch a movie. The response is well they were spending time together. If it is not in a biblical environment it holds little value. Skipping out on church to dance shows the seriousness you have for your walk with Christ. Skipping out on church to watch a Disney movie shows you that you would rather watch some little princess become a frog or a witch than to learn and talk about GOD’S WORD! Paul was excited to spend time with God’s people because he knew what was at stake!

Paul was believed to be in Corinth when he wrote this letter. He was going to walk 720 miles. Don’t take for granted spending time with God’s people! Greg Wright lives in Fountain Inn. That’s about 40-45 min and he is here ever week, because he values spending time with God’s people!

4. We should be willing to invest in and receive from other Christians

11) For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established:

There are two main types of transactions regarding communication taken from bank terminology.

Deposits: (The minister) this is when you are investing toward that person ( Encouragement, serving, teaching, etc…)

Withdrawals(the ministered) this is when you are receiving from someone.

Paul is clearly excited about investing some spiritual gift to you, that they may be established.

There are two applications here:

We should be willing to invest in other Christians with time, love, service

We should be willing to receive other Christians correction, love, service, time.

5. We should be encouraged by other Christians faith

12) that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.

How can other Christians faith encourage us?

-The Lord can use it to reveal an area of weakness in our own life (Tim Tebow giving God the Glory)

For instance, Paul realized the power of an effective Biblical community. In our generation even among the main stream Christian circles, you can be ridiculed for making a radical sacrifice for the Lord. Like throwing away hundreds of dollars of DVD’s, Video Games, TV’s…. which is sad. Because we should see someone doing that and be encouraging toward them telling them how much more focused they are going to be for the Lord’s Work. Instead of laughing under your breath and saying, “That’s a little extreme, don’t you think?” We can not be encouraged together unless we are first encouraging.

6. We should want to build relationships with other Christians

13) I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.

Paul wanted to ensure the Roman church that his delay was not because of lack of interest but of outside circumstances that were out of his control. But Paul was again ensuring this church that he wanted to come and bear fruit among them.

The application here is that we should be excited about building and strengthening relationships with other believers. We should never look at a fellowship with another believer as a drag, because God is pleased when His adopted children not only grow closer together in love, but are doing things together that brings fruit. You can not grow closer in the Lord to your fellow Christian if you are not doing fruitful things.

-Video games can be fruitful- You can use it as a pass time to communicate. But note the type of game does affect the effectiveness of that time. Make sure the conversations stay guided. Stray from idle talk.

7. We should not discriminate among other Christians

14) I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

This word obligation can also be translated “Debtor”. Paul was in debt to the Greeks and the barbarians. Not for anything they did but for what Christ did. He realized his purpose the Lord had given him and he did not let personal preference hinder his ministry. Paul was an esteemed accomplished Hebrew, a Pharisee. I’m sure there were many people he ran into while doing the Lord’s work that he didn’t care too much for or rubbed him the wrong way. But he was a obligated to them, through Christ!

Christ has paid too high a price for use to snarl our noses at other people, because they stink. Or they talk funny. Or they get on our nerves.

8. We should commit to other Christians

15) So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

This is the closing statement for his introduction to the Roman church. For my part- Paul is ensuring his commitment to them. That he is eager to preach the gospel. Early he said obligated, now he is saying eager. This is what made Paul so special. Paul is the most transparent author in the new testament. This shows that this obligation was not out of duty or a feeling of having to…but it was out of love. Because He is eager to preach the gospel because He is committed to Christ, therefore He is committed to other Christians.

We are given the same call. We are to commit to other Christians. Not out of duty but out of love. What does it look like when we commit to each other? We put others before ourselves. Not only do we put their needs above ours, but we recognize their needs sometimes before they do; and Paul knew that the Romans needed to hear sound doctrine. He was excited to preach them the Gospel. As Paul committed to the Church in Rome we should use this example and commit to each other!

Overview

1.We should be thankful for other Christians

2. We should be Concerned for other Christians

3. We should be willing to Spend time with Christians

4. We should be willing to invest in and receive from other Christians

5. We should be encouraged by other Christians faith

6. We should want to build relationships with other Christians

7. We should not discriminate among other Christians

8. We should commit to other Christians

P: Pray 4 minutes a day. You choose when

R: Read Romans 1

O: Apply one of these views of Christians to your life each day. Don’t repeat!

We should be thankful for other Christians

2. We should be Concerned for other Christians

3. We should be willing to spend time with Christians

4. We should be willing to invest in and receive from other Christians

Reason for writing: Paul was wanting to visit the church in Rome. So in his anticipation he wrote a letter for a theological framework which is the most comprehensive systematic statement of faith.

Themes & Key Words: Greetings ; The Gospel; The Wrath of God ; Judicial Abandonment; No Partiality ; Under the Law ; A Great Advantage ; Under Sin; Righteousness Revealed ; Faith and Works; Blessed; The Righteousness of Faith ; Justified.

Fun Fact: Who was the catholic priest that was teaching through Romans and the Lord saved after he read Romans 1:16? He became one of the most influential theologian starting the reformation….Martin Luther.

BREAKING IT DOWN!

Paul, A Bond-servant of Christ Jesus ,Called as an apostle: his identity

Set apart for the gospel of God : his sacrifice

Which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures : his purpose

His Identity:

Paul A Bond-servant of Christ Jesus ,

Called as an apostle.

Bondservant (doulos)- Lit means slave.

Called : chosen as an apostle.

Did Paul choose to be a slave by accepting the call to be an apostle?

Did Paul become a slave because he was chosen to be an apostle?

Reference verse 2 note: PROMISE

TITUS 1:2

GENESIS 9:12-16

His Sacrifice

Set apart for the Gospel of God

What is the Gospel of God? 1 John 5:11-12

Why is Paul is Set Apart?

Why is this important?

How can we apply it to our lives?

Do we apply it to our lives?

His Purpose

Which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures.

Paul’s purpose was predestined by God.

Ephesians 1:5, 2:8-10

Acts 4:27-28

The PRO CHALLENGE

We’ve looked over 1 John. Are you a Christian?

Paul’s identity was in Christ. It was not a hobby, a facebook status, or a topic we talk about with only a certain group of people. As Christians our identity should be wrapped in Christ.

Become a Romans PRO:

Pray: 2 minute drill. Practice the discipline of prayer. When you get up spend two minutes of prayer with God. When you go to bed spend 2 minutes of prayer.

Read: Read Romans 1

Obey: Being set apart is the key challenge this week. Pick one thing a day to set yourself apart for the gospel of God.